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The Real Life Killer that Inspired ‘Jeepers Creepers’!

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Dennis DePue was a real-life killer that inspired the horror movie Jeepers Creepers!

Plenty of horror movies are inspired by actual events, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to Child’s Play. In fact, as we recently told you here on iHorror, even A Nightmare on Elm Street had real-life inspirations. A burnt-faced dream demon of course never truly existed, but the inspiration story is very interesting. You can read all about that here.

You also might be surprised to learn that 2001’s Jeepers Creepers was similarly derived from true events. This fact wasn’t in the least bit played up by writer/director Victor Salva. The movie is about a winged monster that plucks out human eyeballs. Though it may seem impossible that it was grounded in any sort of reality, it most definitely was.

The Real Life Killer that Inspired Jeepers Creepers
via Unsolved Mysteries Wiki

It was in 1990 that Michigan resident Dennis DePue became the subject of a police manhunt. This occurred after Dennis DePue murdered his wife and dumped her body behind an abandoned schoolhouse. The story goes that the murder was an act of vengeance, after his wife filed for divorce, with Dennis DePue shooting her in the back of the head.

In Jeepers Creepers, the monster dumps bodies behind an abandoned church, much the same way DePue disposed of his wife, but it wasn’t DePue that inspired the film so much as it was the testimony of two eyewitnesses who saw him dump the body.

The Real Life Killer that Inspired Jeepers Creepers

While driving around on a long stretch of Michigan road, Ray and Marie Thornton spotted DePue doing his dirty deed, and then found themselves followed by the killer, who suspiciously tailed them in his van for several miles. Sound familiar? Because it certainly should, if you’ve seen Jeepers Creepers.

Jeepers Creepers on Unsolved Mysteries

Now what’s most interesting about all of this is that the TV show Unsolved Mysteries ran a story on the DePue case in March of 1991, a full ten years before Jeepers Creepers was made. The segment featured a re-enactment of Thornton’s story, which bears a striking resemblance to the first half of Salva’s film.

The opening sequence of Jeepers Creepers is directly lifted from the episode, right down to specific shots and dialogue exchanges. Like the Thornton’s, the brother and sister in the film even pass the time by playing the very same license plate game, making the inspiration undeniable.

Oddly enough, while Salva has credited Steven Spielberg’s Duel with serving as an inspiration for the film, he’s never once given any sort of credit to Unsolved Mysteries. This leads me to believe that he hoped nobody would ever make the connection. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using a ripped-from-the-headlines story as the basis for a film. However, the direct lifting of the “Unsolved Mysteries” re-enactment of that story is suspect, to say the least.

“Creeper” Dennis DePue Caught

The real-life killer that inspired Jeepers Creepers was finally caught.

Shortly after the 1990 episode aired, Dennis DePue was caught, and subsequently committed suicide. So no, he never went on to stalk a bus full of shirtless dudes, in case you were wondering!

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New ‘MaXXXine’ Image is Pure 80s Costume Core

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A24 has unveiled a captivating new image of Mia Goth in her role as the titular character in “MaXXXine”. This release comes approximately a year and a half after the previous installment in Ti West’s expansive horror saga, which covers more than seven decades.

MaXXXine Official Trailer

His latest continues the story arc of freckle-faced aspiring starlet Maxine Minx from the first film X which took place in Texas in 1979. With stars in her eyes and blood on her hands, Maxine moves into a new decade and a new city, Hollywood, in pursuit of an acting career, “But as a mysterious killer stalks the starlets of Hollywood, a trail of blood threatens to reveal her sinister past.”

The photo below is the latest snapshot released from the film and shows Maxine in full Thunderdome drag amid a crowd of teased hair and rebellious 80s fashion.

MaXXXine is set to open in theaters on July 5.

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Netflix Releases First BTS ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Footage

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It’s been three long years since Netflix unleashed the bloody, but enjoyable Fear Street on its platform. Released in a tryptic fashion, the streamer broke up the story into three episodes, each taking place in a different decade which by the finale were all tied together.

Now, the streamer is in production for its sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen which brings the story into the 80s. Netflix gives a synopsis of what to expect from Prom Queen on their blog site Tudum:

“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.” 

Based on R.L. Stine’s massive series of Fear Street novels and spin-offs, this chapter is number 15 in the series and was published in 1992.

Fear Street: Prom Queen features a killer ensemble cast, including India Fowler (The Nevers, Insomnia), Suzanna Son (Red Rocket, The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls, Above the Shadows), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty, Cinnamon), Ella Rubin (The Idea of You), Chris Klein (Sweet Magnolias, American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range, Manhunt) and Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From, Perry Mason).

No word on when Netflix will drop the series into its catalog.

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Live Action Scooby-Doo Reboot Series In Works at Netflix

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Scooby Doo Live Action Netflix

The ghosthunting Great Dane with an anxiety problem, Scooby-Doo, is getting a reboot and Netflix is picking up the tab. Variety is reporting that the iconic show is becoming an hour-long series for the streamer although no details have been confirmed. In fact, Netflix execs declined to comment.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

If the project is a go, this would be the first live-action movie based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon since 2018’s Daphne & Velma. Before that, there were two theatrical live-action movies, Scooby-Doo (2002) and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), then two sequels that premiered on The Cartoon Network.

Currently, the adult-oriented Velma is streaming on Max.

Scooby-Doo originated in 1969 under the creative team Hanna-Barbera. The cartoon follows a group of teenagers who investigate supernatural happenings. Known as Mystery Inc., the crew consists of Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and Shaggy Rogers, and his best friend, a talking dog named Scooby-Doo.

Scooby-Doo

Normally the episodes revealed the hauntings they encountered were hoaxes developed by land-owners or other nefarious characters hoping to scare people away from their properties. The original TV series named Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! ran from 1969 to 1986. It was so successful that movie stars and pop culture icons would make guest appearances as themselves in the series.

Celebrities such as Sonny & Cher, KISS, Don Knotts, and The Harlem Globetrotters made cameos as did Vincent Price who portrayed Vincent Van Ghoul in a few episodes.

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